Smartcards

Discover a smarter way to travel.

Our Touch Smartcards are free and hold train ticket details electronically. They can be used for Return or Single tickets and are ideal for keeping your Season Ticket safe. Touch Smartcards also hold London Travelcards saving you from switching between tickets during your commute. They save you from having to queue at the station and reduce the use of paper - making them much more environmentally friendly too!

You can order your Smartcard within your South Western Railway ‘My Account’ section or while purchasing a Season ticket through our website.
Tickets can be bought, up to two hours before travel, online or via the phone (0345 810 1010) and are loaded onto your Touch Smartcard by touching your card on a validator at your chosen station.

Single, return and weekly tickets can be purchased and Monthly Season tickets can be renewed at ticket machines and instantly loaded onto your card.

If you have a paper Season ticket with more than three months left, you can swap your paper ticket to a Touch Smartcard for free. You may also qualify for a 5% discount when you renew your Touch Season ticket. Just call 0345 810 1010.

Important information about using your Touch Smartcard

Where a Season ticket is loaded onto your SWR Smartcard, it is only valid when accompanied by a National Rail photocard, and you must show this when asked. Your Touch Smartcard will have your name printed on the front, and this name must match the name on your National Rail photocard. If you don’t already have one, you can get a National Rail photocard from our ticket offices – bring a passport-size photo.

Tickets must be loaded onto your Smartcard before you board the train. If you buy tickets online or over the phone, you will need to collect your ticket from a validator at your chosen station - the card readers on a ticket machine will not do this unless you have bought your ticket from that machine.

You need to touch in by placing your Smartcard on the reader as you pass through the ticket gates – or where there are no ticket gates, on a platform validator – before boarding your train. Take care to keep all other contactless cards clear – such as Oyster cards, credit/debit cards or building passes – to avoid ‘card-clash’.

Onboard staff will pass through the train and check everyone’s tickets. They’ll use a reader to scan your SWR Smartcard. If you’re travelling on a Season ticket, you must show your National Rail photocard at the same time.

At the end of your journey you need to touch out by placing your Smartcard on a reader at the automatic ticket gate, or platform validator if there are no gates.